Given the ongoing situation in the Middle East, the initial assumption if one were to ask why many shop owners in Japan have been putting up notices regarding the price of tofu increasing, a likely response is that it probably has something to do with the supply of soybeans and the costs associated with the logistical supply chain in getting them from point A to point B.
As it turns out though, it’s not (yet) the soybean supply chain that is having this initial impact. Instead, it’s the cost of the plastic containers and the plastic film that seals in the tofu and water. These plastic containers are petroleum base (as are many other types of plastic containers which a large variety of products are packaged in), and highlights how the entire global supply chain for goods will be impacted (where those cumulative costs will be passed on to the consumer).
Tofu has been stored in either these plastic containers or plastic bags (the former being more resilient). Additionally in the past, vendors used to go around town and people could buy a block of tofu where they would use their own storage container. Like so many past practices, those types of businesses have mostly gone away.
While there are plant based containers (ones made from bamboo and unbleached plant fiber which became heavily promoted during the pandemic), the economies of scale with costs have prevented the food industry from going all in. I still recall some of the initial product (like utensils) were a bit on the flimsy side, but much of those issues has been dealt with (I’m not sure if the plant based straws have improved; the initial ones were pretty terrible).
Similarly, food containers are able to handle things like liquid, heat (microwave reheating), and freezing well now along with their long term solubility (given how tofu is stored in water) not being an issue.
I know there are some hybrid products (plant based and a lower percentage of plastic) on the market that have been produced to lower the costs, but those will be impacted on the plastic manufacturing side. The larger point is that Japan will need to again rethink some of their packaging practices where multiple pieces of packaging are used.
You see this in wagashi sweets where each piece is enclosed in its own packaging, and then packaged in additional outer packaging. This similarly exists with cookies, senbei crackers, and other food products where part of that has been associated with presentation.
Food products (especially Japanese sweets) tend to be individually wrapped primarily for hygiene and to preserve freshness. This is part of Japan’s cultural emphasis on cleanliness and food safety. It’s also a “tradition” that has been stuck to even in light of concerns about the excessive garbage it creates. As prices are affected across the board (due to the wide ranging impacts on these supply chain costs), there might be this need to compromise on solutions.
With something like tofu, it might be time for many shops to begin at least transitioning to plant based containers or maybe allowing customers to bring their own, in what would be a throwback to the past.
